Roy Haggerty

I assume that's a picture of the RFL's last pitch to TV broadcasters, emphasising our slick presentation and professionalism.

If you visit RedVee, you'll find an awful lot of Saints fans rather vocally wondering if McManus needs an HIA, since he chose to throw his lot behind Nigel Wood et al. His statement after Johnson resigned was just as tinpot as this one, albeit in a different way. Likewise, Beaumont doesn't escape a lot of criticism in all sorts of places. The Batley guy isn't being singled out.

“And after we raised an extra £250 over a plate of chips, we voted to boot a multi-million turnover operation from our competition, because they don’t add enough to it”.

Thanks for the reply. If that was indeed the case, then I have no beef with it. I’ve no problem with Catalans having the same antipodean quota as the other clubs. I support a 14 team SL, as I think 12 is too small and repetitive. And a malevolent French RU is a given. None of which explains why not a single club owner, none of whom are bound by anything like a review, has come forward and simply said that there’s no threat to Catalans’ position. There’s just something too unsettling about this.

I think I’d agree if this was a bat**** story. But bat**** stories don’t get covered in unison by nearly all RL journos all saying pretty much the same thing. RL journalism - because it’s such a very small world - does rely on a bit of an omertà about a lot of things. When something like this emerges into the light, there are legs underneath it. Also, going back to Martyn’s earlier comment here, he wasn’t reporting a denial. Read it again. There is quite a gap between saying ‘this story isn’t true’ and ‘I’m mystified where this story is coming from’.

Any impression will be subject to confirmation bias. But the comments I’m seeing on X are overwhelmingly negative about the concept of booting Catalans out. On Facebook it’s still very much a majority hostile to evicting them, but there are perhaps a few more “English RL for English clubs” types than on X. On RedVee it’s again mostly people despairing at Saints apparently taking such a narrow-minded, regressive view. But these are small sample sizes. As I’ve said, I don’t claim to speak for anyone but me.

I’m aware you denigrated it, and indeed said you’d campaign against such a move. But there’s an awful lot of smoke here. And it remains the case that the issue could be killed stone dead instantly by having a single club owner, or Wood or one of the new regime, simply coming out and saying publicly that there are no plans to boot Catalans. Yet none have done so. You’re the guy with connections, Martyn. If you can get a quote on record which clearly dismisses this, then the issue goes away immediately. And why wouldn’t everyone want this mystifying misconception to go away? The silence in this case, is rather loud.

Well like I said, I doubt anyone gives a toss what I do. But we all have individual red lines, and for me this would be the end of a long involvement with and love of RL. I hope very much it doesn’t come to pass, but if my club are instrumental in kicking Catalans out of the comp, I’m done. I can’t bear that small-minded, small-time attitude. I don’t want to be part of that.

Matt Shaw, Steve Mascord, Aaron Bower have all raised this. Martin Sadler of this very parish has discussed the issue on his podcast. Phil Caplan on his podcast too. That’s a hefty slice of RL journos. We can do an ostrich if we like, and pretend not to see what’s in front of our faces, but it’s quite clear there’s a move afoot to boot Catalans, and the SL clubs consistently identified are the minnows, also-rans and flat-cappers : Salford, Leigh, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Castleford and Saints. Simple fact is, that these reports are out there. Catalans themselves have responded to what they know is going on. And not one SL club has denied it. Any of those clubs could knock it on the head in seconds by simply saying that they don’t want to see Catalans evicted. Not one has.

Sent this to Skysports feedback tonight. Not my finest, but I'm tired and hacked off. I'm sure it matters not one jot, but I'm fed up of sitting here passively while selfish and myopic club owners cripple our sport time and time again. It might be merely a gesture, but I guess even a gesture is better than simply sitting doing nothing in despair. "Dear Sirs I have been a sky sports subscriber now for at least 3 decades, and that subscription has always been driven solely by your coverage of rugby league. I've followed my team of St Helens throughout, celebrating their many successes and feeling their failures along the way. I am writing to you now to say that I understand that some super league clubs are planning to evict Catalans Dragons from the competition. This includes, shamefully, my own club of St Helens. If they carry out this threat, I will be cancelling my sky sports subscription, as such a move can only be a sign of a sport which has given up any desire for greater coverage, a wider fanbase, or indeed any ambition for its future as a professional sport. It disgusts me that my own club, St Helens, once seen as a progressive club, seems to be involved in this act of self-harm. In the first instance, I would urge you to use what influence you have to persuade the RFL to avoid such an act of self-harm. However, if they proceed with it, I would suggest that you may as well save your money when the next TV rights package is put up for sale, as there could not be any clearer sign of a sport which has nothing to offer but contraction, mediocrity and parochialism. Yours sincerely"

The thing which drives me nuts is that no outsider, looking at our sport, would identify Catalans as the problem. You might point at Huddersfield, as having risible crowds for decades and not winning a title or challenge cup for 60 years. You might point at Salford, as also having risible crowds, not winning a challenge cup or title for 50 years, AND being a financial basket case. You might point to Wakefield, or Castleford as clubs who bounce in and out of financial chaos, never do anything but make up the numbers without competing, and have historically delivered below-average crowds in antiquated stadiums. But no. Instead, all those clubs, less successful on the field than Catalans, less financially successful than Catalans, and with less support than Catalans, are the ones voting to get rid of Catalans! I mean, ffs. They're seriously planning to go to TV companies and say "Hey, we kicked out the only club which isn't a depressed ex-industrial M62 exit. You know, the one which has reached two grand finals and won the challenge cup in the last 10 years. The one regularly competing with the best in a packed stadium at the top of the league. But we have replaced them with another LESS SUCCESSFUL team in a WORSE stadium a few miles from a bunch of other LESS SUCCESSFUL teams in WORSE stadiums. They'll get lower crowds too. Now, how about a bigger TV deal?" It's insane. If they do this, it's insane. The sport has lost its marbles.

Saints used to be a progressive, ambitious club. That has changed, and not just in poor recruitment and retention policies. I’ve read from multiple sources that Saints have joined the ranks of the also-rans who want Catalans kicked out so they can sell a hundred extra pies once a year to another M62 team. There’s too much smoke not to have a fire. If this is indeed the case, I am deeply ashamed of the club I’ve supported for 40 years. Ashamed and disgusted.

Given Salford's position, you may not have to wait long.

Happy April 1st!

I was at Catalans on Saturday. I’m willing to spend my cash going there, in a way I’d never spend cash going to some shitheap on the M62. Catalans do so much right. Not just the crowd, who are younger and more mixed than you’ll see anywhere up north; not just the atmosphere, which is upbeat and exciting. They do the sponsorship so well. Before the match their big screen was showing a professional advert involving Tomkins and various local and regional businesses. They had top class sponsors advertising like Axa. They lay on transport to and from the ground from the town centre. they’re basically a professional organisation who know how to market themselves and generate income. It’s no wonder our basket case M62 clubs who think the only way of making money is to sell a few more pies to away fans, hate them. They’re an example of what all those clubs could be, but aren’t.